Most of us give to charity each year. Yet most donors make their gifts arbitrarily — because of mood, guilt, or possibly the alignment of the planets.

Inspired Philanthropy is a workbook designed for people who have money and wish to link their giving to personal values. A solid resource for givers at every level from modest to substantial, this revised edition guides the reader through the development and implementation of a giving plan. In the process, the plan provides a sense of where your philanthropic dollars and hours are going and, because it reflects your personal priorities, a stronger sense of satisfaction as a donor.

The exercises throughout the workbook help you understand previous patterns and methods for your giving, offering tips for tracking previous recipients and identifying their organizational characteristics, goals, and successes. The book's purpose is to maximize your relationship as donor, to wisely use your dollars and volunteer hours as a means for social change.

Inspired Philanthropy is divided into two major sections. Part One grounds you in the context of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, examines your own giving pattern and helps you identify the skills that you bring to nonprofits. Part Two provides useful information on how to work with nonprofits as a donor, strategies to direct your giving, and ideas to spark giving by children and youth.

Featuring statistics that are updated from the 1997 edition, a new chapter on family giving, and current information on a variety of giving vehicles, this empowering guide teaches how to ask the right questions and helps ensure that giving is effective. The exercises and worksheets, donor stories, and reflections make the text more personally meaningful and accessible.

Tracy Gary has been a donor activist, philanthropic adviser, and nonprofit entrepreneur for more than twenty-five years. She has founded seventeen nonprofits including Resourceful Women, the Women Foundation of San Francisco and the Changemaker Fund. Melissa Kohner has been engaged in the political and financial concerns of young donors through individual consulting, workshops, and mentoring. She is on the steering committee of the Young Donors Organizing Alliance and serves on the board of many nonprofits including Bread and Roses Community Fund and Lion Theatre.

For citations to additional literature on this topic, refer to Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject headings "Philanthropy — donor advice" or "Individual giving."